The relationships of job and family demands and job and family resources with family caregivers’ strain

Background Because of an expected increase in the number of family caregivers, there is a growing public and scientific interest in family caregiving and more specifically in the combination of family care with paid employment. It is important to gain insight in the family caregivers' strain and determining factors in the job and family domain.Aim The aim of the study was to examine the associations of job and family demands and job and family resources with indicators of caregivers' psychological strain, that is caregiver burden, work-related emotional exhaustion and general ill mental health. In our research, we focused on individuals who combine paid employment with family caregiving.Methods A cross-sectional design was used. The study sample was derived in 2011 from a Dutch financial organisation and a healthcare organisation. A digital fully structured questionnaire was used. The sample consisted of 187 employees who identified themselves as family caregivers. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression analysis were performed.Results Job demands (i.e. workload, work-family conflict) and family demands (i.e. family care hours and family-work conflict) were significantly positively associated with all three domain-specific indicators of strain. The resources of work-family and family-work enrichment and autonomy did not contribute to less experienced strain. More supervisor and colleague support was associated with lower ill mental health.Conclusion Our study showed that job demands (workload, work-family conflict) and family demands (family care hours, family-work conflict) were clearly associated with caregiver strain, while associations for job and family resources were not evident. It remains necessary to pay attention to the demanding aspects of dual roles of family caregivers but also to investigate the resources they have available at work as well as in their home situation and explore their potential reducing effect on family caregivers' strain

The corporate governance effects of audit committee

This chapter provides a synthesis and evaluation of empirical research on the governance effects associated with audit committees. Given recent policy recommendations in several countries aimed at strengthening these committees, it is important to establish what research evidence demonstrates about their existing governance contribution. A framework for analyzing the impact of audit committees is described, identifying potential perceived effects which may have led to their adoption and documented effects on aspects of the audit function, on financial reporting quality and on corporate performance. It is also shown that most of the existing research has focused on factors associated with audit committee existence, characteristics, and measures of activity and there is very little evidence on the processes associated with the operation of audit committees and the manner in which they influence organizational behavior. It is clear that there is no automatic relationship between the adoption of audit committee structures or characteristics and the achievement of particular governance effects, and caution may be needed over expectations that greater codification around factors such as audit committee members’ independence and expertise as the means of ‘‘correcting’’ past weaknesses in the arrangements for audit committees. The most fundamental question concerning what difference audit committees make in practice continues to be an important area for research development. For future research we suggest: (1) greater consideration of the organizational and institutional contexts in which audit committees operate; (2) explicit theorization of the processes associated with audit committee operation; (3) complementing extant research methods with field studies; and (4) investigation of unintended as well as expected consequences of audit committees

Do corporate governance attributes affect adverse selection costs? Evidence from seasoned equity offerings

Corporate governance, Seasoned equity issues, G14, G32,

The role of the audit committee in Thailand: a mature monitoring mechanism or an evolving process?

Audit committees, Evolutionary development, Developing country, Dominant shareholders, Thailand,